Horse-stall.



, PATENTED NOV. 24, 1903. G. B. EPPLEY.

HORSE STALL. .APPLIOATION FILED SEPTJ' I, 1903.

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PATENTED NOV. 24 1903.

G. B. EPPLEY'. HORSE STALL.

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 4, 1903.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 24, 1903.

PATENT: OFFICE.-

HORSE-STALL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 745,170, dated November .24, 1903.

Application filed September 4, 1903. Serial No. 171,906. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEARY B. EPPLEY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident 01 Washington, in the District of Columbia, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Horse-Stalls, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improved knockdown or adjustable and collapsible stall especially adapted for use in railway-cars for shipping stock, more particularly valuable horses, with safety and comfort. r

The details of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts are hereinafter described and claim ed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View showing a series of stalls constructed and arranged within a car-body according to my invention. Fig. 1 is a detail section hereinafter referred to. Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of a series of stall-partitions close together as when not in use. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal horizontal section of one of the partitions. Fig. 4 is a perspective view, inverted, of one of the cleats or feet of a partitionpost. Fig. 5 is a perspective view, inverted, of the cleat or foot of another partition-post. Fig. 6 is a View illustrating the arrangement and attachment of the kick-board in connection with the foot-posts and cleats of a stall. Fig. 7 is a horizontal cross-section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 8. Fig. Sis an enlarged longitudinal section of the top portion of one of the partition-posts and the adjustable clamp con- ,necting therewith.

As indicated in Fig. 1, a series of stalls are formed by means of parallel vertical partitions A.

many sets or series of parallel stalls as the length of the car and regard to comfort and safety of the animals will permit.

Each partition A is formed of horizontal boards laid edgewise upon each other and three vertical posts 0 O O or uprights, two of which are adjustably secured to two overhead cross-bars D and D, the latter being detachably secured between the side walls of the car by means of adjustable end pieces E, to be presently described.

.Whose upper portion In practice these are arranged lengthwise of a box-car B, there being as The several posts are constructed of iron or steel. The front or head post 0 and shorter rear or foot post C are channeled or grooved throughout their length on their opposite or inner sides, while the intermediate post 0' is slotted throughout its length. (See Fig. 3.) The boards forming the partitions proper enter the grooves of the posts 0 C and pass through the post 0, and all are secured by pins or rivets, as shown. Each of the posts 0 and C is provided, respectively, with a detachable clamp F, by which it. is secured to its adjacent crossbar D or D. The details of construction of such clamp are illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. It is formed of a fixed jaw f and hinged jawf, both of which are curved or semicircular in shape to adapt them to fittightly on the cross-bar. Athumb screw f passes through the parallel free ends of said jawsff and serves to adjust the pressure of the clamp on the cross-bar or to permit convenient attachment and detachment, as conditions may require.

The jaws F are fixed on the foot-posts 0 but the-clamps F of posts 0 are made vertically adjustable by means of the following construction and combination of parts.

The fixed jawfforms an extension of a rod,

J? has a coarse screwthread, while its lower portion f is made square or otherwise polygonal. The screw works in a nut 0, arranged in the top of each tubular post and the'squared portion in a partition 0, formed in the tube adjacently. The said nut c has a circumferential groove 0 that receives a screw 0 which permits rotation of the nut 0, while preventing-other movement. The nuts 0 are polygonal, and by applying a wrench it is obvious the clamp F may be adjusted higher or lower, according to the height at which it is-necessary or preferred to place the cross-bar.

The several posts C C O are provided with cleats or foot-piecesG G G which are pinned to them or otherwise secured, so as to form practically a rigid attachment. The cleat G of head-post O is rectangular and also the cleat G of the foot-post 0 while that of the slotted intermediate post 0 is shown circular. They may, however, have any other preferred contour or form.

The cleats G and G2 are secured to the car-floor by nails; but the cleat G is provided with short integral pins or spikes, as shown in Fig. 5.

In order to provide for raising the cleats and detaching them from the car-floor, they are constructed with a base-notch g to receive the point of a crow-bar or hammer-claw or other form of lever that may be employed for the purpose. The cleat G being smaller, it may be detached more easily or without the aid of a lever.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4, 6, the foot-cleat G has a vertical flange g, which serves to hold the lower edge of the kick-board H frequentlysuspended in stalls of this kind. The kick-board is detachably and adjustably suspended from the cross-bar by means of bucklestraps h.

The end pieces E of cross-bars D D are constructed and adapted for adjustment similarly to the clamps F, (see Fig. l)-that is to say, the screws 6 have toothed heads (see Fig. 1) and also square shanks that slide in partitions or guideways that prevent rotation, and a screw prevents detachment of the adjusting-nuts e By rotating the latter the screws will be advanced or retracted, as required, to secure the cross-bars D D at any desired height or to permit the stalls to be knocked down and removed.

It will be seen that when the partitions are in use, as shown in Fig. 1, the head-posts O are not attached to cross-bars, they being unprovided with clamps. Thus there is no crossbar over a horses head.

I show in Fig. 1 panels I, of wire-netting or metal lattice-work, arranged on the posts 0 C in the same plane as the body of the partitions. The panels have fixed rings adapted to slide down on the posts, so that convenient attachment and detachment are provided for. The panels allow ventilation without permitting the animals to interfere with one another.

By my improved construction the partitions may be quickly set up and secured at any desired distance apart and easily removed or adjusted laterally when not in use. To set them up, the partitions, with posts attached, are first put in place at therequired distance apart and the cleats or foot-pieces secured to the floor, whereby the partitions are held upright. The clamps F are then opened and. the cross-bars D D laid in them, whereupon the clamps are closed and the cross-bars secured at the desired height, the clamps being likewise adjusted higher or lower, as may be required.

In Fig. 2 I show a series of partitions with posts attached nested or adjusted close together at one side of a car B, as when not in use.

What I claim is- 1. In a knockdown stall, the combination, with the transverse overhead cross-bar and the partition-posts, of clamps comprising jaws one of which is hinged and adapted to be opened to secure them to said cross -bar, a screw-shank connected with said jaws and having a polygonal lower portion, a nut which is held rotatably on said posts, and means for securing the said nut so that it is immovable vertically, the said posts having, interiorly,

a polygonal guidewav in which the polygonal portion of the screw-shank is adapted to slide, substantially as described.

2. In a knockdown stall, the combination, with the transverse overhead cross-bar and the partition-posts, of clamps comprising jaws adapted to be opened so that they may be applied to said cross-barafter the latter has been set in place, a screw-shank connected with said clamps, nuts which are held rotatably on the posts, means for securing the nuts so that they are held from vertical movement, and means for preventing rotation of the screw, as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a knockdown stall, an improved partition comprising boards, and head and foot posts arranged at the ends of the partition, and an intermediate post, the said foot and intermediate posts being provided with vertically-adj ustable clamps adapted for attachment to overhead cross-bars, substantially as set forth.

4. In a knockdown stall, the combination, with a partition comprising boards and posts secured together, of cleats or foot pieces adapted to be secured to a fioorand provided with notches for the reception of a lever, -substantially as described.

5. In a knockdown stall, the combination, with partitions and foot-posts, of feet or cleats for the latter which are provided with vertical flanges extending inward from said posts whereby they are adapted for engaging the lower end of a kick-board, substantially as described.

GEARY B. EPPLEY. WVitnesses:

AMos W. HART, SoLoN O. KEMON. 

